When I'm walking in my neighborhood, inevitably someone I know drives by in a car. They usually honk and wave, and I wave back. Sometimes I can't see who the person behind the wheel is; I usually acknowledge them with a wave anyway. That way I can't be accused of being stuck up if it really is someone I know.
Oddly, when I'm driving I usually don't see anyone I know, so I don't get to be on the giving end of the wave. The other day I decided it shouldn't matter whether or not I knew a person. The friendly thing to do would be to honk anyway. Besides, I thought it would be fun to see what people did. Today on the way home from work I honked and waved at all the pedestrians I saw.
I got a variety of reactions. Some people waved back, some people looked confused, and some (including all of the children) just ignored me. I think the guy with the i-pod wire running from his pocket to his ear probably didn't even hear me!
I do that too.. though usually at christmas time I am dressed up as an elf on my motorbike.. get a few strange looks from the kids :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat Blog btw.. enjoy visiting and catching up on your experiences
lol Hi Kathy, from another St. Louis gal. You sound like me. I'm up here in St. Charles and I tend to try to wave as often as I can except my experiences with people are a bit difference. The 50 and over crowd is always friendly and wave back even if the have no clue who I am. Anyone with a dog usually waves. Our teenagers do NOT wave, but almost every single child or pre-teen waves (sometimes before I even wave, honk or acknowledge them) - they must have the parents that are uber friendly. LOL
ReplyDeleteThere aren't many 20 somethings running around the neighborhood so I don't wave at many, and then the 30 somethings and 40 somethings are probably a lot like your experiences - some confused, some waving and some generally just walking by.
Anyway, found you through STLbloggers and glad I did. I used to live in E-ville, right there near you I'm sure. Miss that area but not Manch. road!
I definitely need to do this activity again (but not till it's cool enough to have the car windows open again).
ReplyDeleteSage, I would LOVE to see an elf on a motorbike!
Nicole, I think the parents around here have taught their kids too much about "strangers" that they won't even respond to someone in a moving car.
Thanks for the advice on the fiber! The cereal really is good, I guess I just can't eat it every morning. :)
ReplyDeleteI usually drive behind the school bus in our neighborhood in the morning, and all the kids always wave at me, and they always get so excited when I wave back. I guess most grown-ups don't usually wave back at them? I even honk if they do the honk sign. Such simple things make their day.